Okay, I'll grant that visiting Second Life can seem a bit uncomfortable, especially at first, but it does open some new doors and present an alternative to travel.
In flu season, virtual visits could be the next best thing to being there. (Yikes, that sounds like an ad. No more yahoo news for me!)
Here's where you can attend ScienceOnline 2010 in Second Life (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Research%20Triangle%20Park/ ... Read more
Since I'm an adjunct faculty member at a couple of community colleges, I'm able to delete most of my e-mail with barely a glance.
But this one made my jaw drop!
Dear Educators:
Alliance Library System and LearningTimes are pleased to announce an
exciting conference featuring science and virtual worlds. On January
30th we are "Stepping Into Science" and taking the day to explore the possibilities of using virtual worlds to learn about and teach science.
The conference will be taking place entirely in Second Life and will
feature a keynote ... Read more
I heard some intriguing presentations this week about education in Second Life, but I happen know that there is an open-source, free (?) alternative called "Croquet."
Do any of you have experience with Croquet vs. Second Life? I'd love to hear about it in the comments.
I attended two talks, hoping that someone would compare different platforms, or at least give the audience a chance to ask questions, but no such luck.
I think these multi-user virtual environments are really interesting, but I have some reservations about educational institutions making substantial investments ... Read more
I was in in Washington D.C. this last week attending the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technology Education conference. During the conference, I attended one workshop and one talk on Second Life. Both of the presentations were focused on Teen Second Life, which was interesting, but neither presentation did a very good job of illustrating how I would use Second Life as a teaching tool.
Julian Lombardi's blog has a short YouTube movie that comes pretty close. Be patient, the marketing pitch doesn't last forever.
Read more
A bit of unsolicited advice for workshop presenters
I'm currently in Washington, D.C. at the Advanced Technology Education conference co-sponsored by National Science Foundation and the American Association of Community Colleges. The people here are an interesting mix of instructors teaching high tech stuff and instructors who sometimes seem more advanced in age than technological know-how.
Mind you, people are doing amazing things. Some colleges have nanotechnology, some microfabrication, some biotechnology, computer forensics, but some of the high tech programs are ... Read more
Are you curious about Second Life?
Next week you can satisfy your curiosity and learn about the personal genomics frontier at the same time.
Bertalan Meskó announced that Erin Davis (science writer) and Joyce Tung (human geneticist) from 23andMe will be giving a presentation next week in Second Life on personalized genetics.
As travel costs rise and traveling becomes harder, I think we'll see many more things happening in alternative places like Second Life. ... Read more
This month's edition of Medicine 2.0 focuses on connections. You'll learn how new technologies are empowering patients by connecting them with their own health records, connecting patients and paramedics with doctors, and connecting doctors with each other.
Nothing connects like Web 2.0.
Let's hit the Midway!
... Read more
On June 1st, I'll be hosting the next edition of Medicine 2.0, a carnival devoted to exploring the impacts of web 2.0 technologies on medicine and medical practice.
All topics that consider the impacts of web 2.0 on medicine and healthcare are fair game.
Are you talking with doctors about sexually transmitted diseases in Second Life?
Have you had your genome sequenced? Do your doctors send you e-mail?
Are you using web technologies to measure your food consumption and calorie burning?
A few weeks ago I attended a education conference at Pacific Science Center entitled, "A Conversation that Can Change the World."
It was interesting. Everyone was pretty enthusiastic at the meeting and there was a lot of positive energy.
The Wired Campus has an interesting article on nursing students at Tacoma Community College. In John Miller's class, the students practice interviewing patients in Second Life.
This sort of activity, of course, is one that could be carried out in a classroom, but I can see the advantages of having student interview other "people" who are for the most part, strangers. It will be a different and valuable experience. Read more
Nothing connects like Web 2.0.
Let's hit the Midway!
...